Game ball having a thin cover and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A game ball is formed by molding a carcass in the final shape of the ball, spraying a mold surface with cover material, inserting the carcass into the mold, and molding the cover material onto the carcass.

BACKGROUND

[0001] This invention relates to game balls such as basketballs,footballs, soccer balls, and volley balls. More particularly, theinvention relates to a game ball having a thin cover that is sprayed-on,dipped-on, or other wise applied to the ball.

[0002] Performance type basketballs, footballs, soccer balls and volleyballs are traditionally made by forming a carcass, applying panels ofcover material to the carcass, and molding the cover material onto thecarcass.

[0003] For many years the most expensive high end basketballs usedleather covers. Less expensive basketballs use covers made of syntheticleather. Prior art methods for forming basketballs, soccer balls, andvolley balls and various cover material therefor are described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,024,661, 5,681,233, 5,580,049, 5,320,345, and 5,310,178. The'661, '049, and '178 patents describe synthetic leather cover materialswhich are formed from polyurethane and fibers.

[0004] As described in said patents, a basketball is conventionally madeby first forming a carcass. The carcass includes an inflatable bladder,which is reinforced by a layer of thread, which is wound around thebladder. The carcass may be completed by applying panels of rubber tothe thread-wound bladder and molding the resulting product under heatand pressure to fuse the rubber to the thread-wound bladder. Panels ofcover material are applied to the carcass and secured to the carcass bymolding under heat and pressure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In accordance with the invention, a game ball is provided with athin cover, applied via spraying, dipping, painting, electro-staticpainting, or other means. A carcass is molded into the final shape ofthe ball. The surfaces of a mold cavity of a two-part mold are sprayedwith the cover material. The carcass is inserted into the mold, and thecover is molded onto the carcass to form the completed ball.

[0006] The invention produces high end performance game balls atsignificantly lower cost than prior art performance game balls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0007] The invention will be explained in conjunction with illustrativeembodiments shown in the accompanying drawing, in which—

[0008]FIG. 1 illustrates a basketball formed in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0009]FIG. 2 illustrates a partially wound bladder which is used forforming a carcass of the basketball;

[0010]FIG. 3 illustrates the completed carcass including a plurality ofchannels and a pebbled outer surface;

[0011]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the carcass taken alongthe line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

[0012]FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the carcassshowing a pebble configuration which is molded into the outer surface ofthe carcass;

[0013]FIG. 6 illustrates the step of spraying cover material onto thesurfaces of a mold cavity of a two-part mold;

[0014]FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a cover beingmolded onto the carcass;

[0015]FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the completed basketballtaken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention inwhich the cover material is sprayed onto the carcass;

[0017]FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative preferred embodiment of acompleted carcass; and

[0018]FIG. 11 illustrates another alternative embodiment of theinvention in which a carcass is dipped into a container of covermaterial in liquid form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The invention will be explained with reference to a basketball 10illustrated in FIG. 1. It will be understood, however, that theinvention can be used with other inflatable game balls, for example,footballs, soccer balls, and volley balls.

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the basketball 10 includes a carcass11 that is molded into the shape of the completed basketball 10. Thecarcass 11 includes an inflatable bladder 12, a re-enforcing thread 13(FIG. 2), and preferably, one or more sheets or panels 16. Referring toFIG. 2, the thread 13 is shown partially wound around the bladder 12.The bladder 12 can be formed from conventional bladder materials suchas, for example, butyl rubber, natural rubber, a combination of butyland natural rubber, and other elastic materials. In a particularlypreferred embodiment, the bladder 12 is made of 80% Butyl rubber and 20%natural rubber. In a preferred embodiment, the thread 13 issubstantially wound around the inflated bladder 12 to form a windinglayer 14. The thread 13 can be conventional thread material such as, forexample, 210 denier Nylon 66 thread, which is coated with latex oradhesive. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the bladder 12 and the windinglayer 14 form a wound bladder 15.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, preferably, one or more sheets orpanels 16 are laid over the wound bladder 15. The sheets or panels 16are formed of an elastic material, preferably a butyl rubber/naturalrubber combination. Other materials can also be used, such as, forexample, a natural rubber, butyl rubber, a sponge rubber, or acombination thereof, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,233.

[0022] The wound bladder 15 with the laid-on panels 16 is inflated andthen preferably placed in a spherical carcass mold 24 (FIG. 6) in whichit is heated at about 160° C. to form the carcass 11.

[0023] During the molding process, the rubber panels 16 fuse to eachother and to the windings 14 to form an integral rubber layer 17 of thecarcass 11. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, in a preferred embodiment, aninside surface of the carcass mold 24 includes inwardly extendingprojections 18 (FIG. 7) which form inwardly extending channels 19 in anouter surface 20 of the carcass 11.

[0024] The inside surface of the carcass mold 24 is also preferablyprovided with outwardly extending recesses that provide the outersurface 20 of the completed carcass 11 with a pebbled surface thatduplicates the pebbled surface of conventional covers of basketballs.Referring to FIG. 5, the outer surface 20 of the carcass 11 includesoutwardly projecting pebbles 21 that are separated by valleys 22.

[0025] Turning now to FIG. 6, the two-part mold 24 includes a top half25 and a bottom half 26. Each half is provided with a hemispherical moldcavity 27 and 28, respectively. The surfaces of the mold cavities 27 and28 have the same shape as the outer surface of the molded carcass 11.Alternatively, a first mold can be used to form the carcass 11 and asecond mold can be used to form the completed ball 10 including thecarcass 11 and a cover material. The cover material 30 is bonded to thecarcass 11 without the use of a separate adhesive or adhesive agent. Thecover material 30 is preferably sprayed, in liquid form, onto theinterior surface of each of the mold cavities 27 and 28 by a sprayer 31.In alternative preferred embodiments, the cover material 30 can beapplied in liquid form to the interior surface of the mold cavities 27and 28 by other means, such as, for example, painting, brushing, orpouring. In alternative preferred embodiments, the cover material can bea powder or formed as pellets that are poured into, or otherwiseinserted within, the mold cavities 27 and 28. In another preferredembodiment, the cover material can be injected, in liquid form, into theclosed mold including the carcass 11.

[0026] The cover material 30 can be any suitable material that can cure,set, or harden on the carcass 11 to provide desirable properties ofgrip, feel, and durability. Urethane and plastic materials areparticularly advantageous. In one specific embodiment, the covermaterial 30 is a polyurethane. The cover material 30 preferably has adensity of between 2 and 12 kg/m².

[0027] After the cover material 30 is sprayed-on, or otherwise appliedto, the mold cavities 27 and 28, the inflated carcass 11 is positionedin the mold 24 and the mold 24 is closed. The temperature of the mold 24is preferably between 150 and 165° C., and the internal pressure of thebladder 12 is preferably between 100 to 120 psi.

[0028] The ball 10 is preferably molded under heat for approximately 6minutes as illustrated in FIG. 7. The molding step causes the covermaterial 30 to bond to the carcass 11 and to cure or harden to form afinished cover 32 (FIG. 8). The mold 24 is then opened, and the ball 10is removed.

[0029] The completed ball 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8. Thethickness of the cover 32 is advantageously between 0.1 mm and 2.0 mm.In a particularly preferred embodiment, the thickness of the coverbetween 0.2 mm and 0.75 mm. Preferably, an outside surface 33 of thecover 32 has the same contour as the outer surface 20 of the carcass 11,including the channels 19, the pebbles 21, and valleys 22.

[0030]FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention,wherein instead of spraying the liquid cover material 30 onto thecavities 27 and 28 of the mold 24, the cover material 30 is sprayeddirectly onto the outer surface of the carcass 11. The carcass 11 andthe cover material 30 are thereafter molded in mold 24 as previouslydescribed. In an alternative preferred embodiment, after the covermaterial 30 is sprayed on, or otherwise applied to, the carcass 11; thecarcass 11 and the cover material 30 can be passed, using a conveyorbelt or other means, through an oven.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 10, in an alternative preferred embodiment, thecarcass 11 can be molded in a mold similar to the mold 24 but withoutforming the plurality of channels 19 and a pebbled outer surface. Themold without projections 18 and a pebbled contour can be used to producea generally smooth spherical carcass 11. Then, after spraying-on, orotherwise applying, the cover material 30 to the carcass 11, a mold orother means can be used to form channels and a pebbled outer surface inthe cover material 30.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 11, another alternative preferred embodiment ofthe present invention is illustrated. A container 40 sufficiently sizedto receive at least one inflated carcass 11 is at least partially filledwith the cover material 30. The cover material 30 is preferably heatedto a liquid state either just prior to being placed in the container 40and/or while in the container 40. At least one carcass 11 is thenpreferably positioned in the liquid cover material 30 of the cavity 40.After the predetermined amount of time, the at least one carcass 11 isseparated from the container 40. This application method can be referredto as dipping. The carcass 11 including the liquid cover material 30 canthen be transferred to a mold, such as mold 24, or passed through anoven, to form a completed ball 10.

[0033] In other alternative embodiments, the cover material 30 can beapplied to the carcass 11 using other means, such as for example,painting, brushing, or electro-static painting. To use electrostaticpainting, an electric charge is created on the carcass 11 and/or in thecover material 30 causing the cover material 30 to be drawn to thecarcass 11. One method of developing such a charge includes insertingmagnetic particles into one or both of the cover material 30 and thecarcass 11. Upon curing, magnetic particles can be removed from theball.

[0034] The invention can also be used on other game balls such asfootballs, soccer balls, and volley balls. Appropriate modifications canbe made in the carcass or the surface texture of the balls. For example,the carcass of a football can be formed without a layer of windings orwithout one or more panels. Also, the outer surface of the game ball,such as a soccer ball or a volley ball, can be smooth rather thanpebbled.

[0035] While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of aspecific embodiment of the invention was set forth for the purpose ofillustration, it will be understood that many of the details hereingivenmay be varied considerably by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a game ball comprising thesteps of: obtaining a mold having a n inner surface defining a sphericalmold cavity; forming a spherical carcass; spraying a cover material ontothe inner surface of the mold; inserting the carcass into the moldcavity; closing the mold around the carcass; and molding the covermaterial onto the carcass.
 2. The method of claim 1 further includingthe step of forming the carcass by winding an inflated bladder with atleast one thread.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of formingthe carcass includes the step of molding rubber onto the thread-woundbladder.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the cover material is apolyurethane.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of forming thecarcass includes molding outwardly projecting pebbles on the outersurface of the carcass.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step ofmolding the carcass and the cover material includes molding outwardlyprojecting pebbles on an outer surface of the cover material.
 7. Amethod of making a game ball comprising the steps of: obtaining a moldhaving a spherical mold cavity; forming a spherical carcass; spraying acover material onto the carcass; and heating the cover material and thecarcass to bond the cover material to the carcass.
 8. The method ofclaim 7 further comprising the steps of inserting the carcass and thecover material into the spherical mold cavity of the mold, closing themold around the carcass and the cover material; and molding the carcassand the cover material to bond the cover material to the carcass.
 9. Themethod of claim 7 further including the step of forming the carcass bywinding an inflated bladder with at least one thread.
 10. The method ofclaim 9 wherein the step of forming the carcass includes the step ofmolding rubber onto the thread-wound bladder.
 11. The method of claim 7wherein the cover material is a polyurethane.
 12. The method of claim 7wherein the step of forming the carcass includes molding outwardlyprojecting pebbles on the outer surface of the carcass.
 13. The methodof claim 7 wherein the step of molding the carcass and the covermaterial includes molding outwardly projecting pebbles on an outersurface of the cover material.
 14. A method of making a game ballcomprising the steps of: obtaining at least one mold having a sphericalmold cavity; forming a spherical carcass; obtaining a container sized toreceive at least one spherical carcass; placing a cover material intothe container; heating the cover material to a fluid state; insertingthe carcass into the cover material within the container; removing thecarcass with a film of cover material from the container after apredetermined period of time; inserting the carcass with the film ofcover material into the spherical mold cavity of the mold; closing themold around the carcass and the film of cover material; and molding thecarcass and the film of cover material to bond the cover material to thecarcass.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of forming aspherical carcass is performed using a first mold, and wherein the stepsof: inserting the carcass with the film of cover material into thespherical mold cavity of the mold; closing the mold around the carcassand the film of cover material; and molding the carcass and the film ofcover material to bond the cover material to the carcass, are performedusing a second mold.
 16. The method of claim 14 further including thestep of forming the carcass by winding an inflated bladder with at leastone thread.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of forming thecarcass includes the step of molding at least one panel onto thethread-wound bladder.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the at leastone panel is formed of a material selected from the group consisting ofbutyl rubber, natural rubber, sponge rubber and combinations thereof.19. The method of claim 14 wherein the cover material is a polyurethane.20. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of forming the carcassincludes molding outwardly projecting pebbles on an outer surface of thecarcass.
 21. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of molding thecarcass and the film of the cover material includes molding outwardlyprojecting pebbles on an outer surface of the cover material.
 22. A gameball comprising a spherical carcass and a one-piece cover, the coversurrounding the carcass and bonded to the carcass without an adhesive,the cover having a thickness less than 0.5 mm.
 23. The game ball ofclaim 22 in which the cover is formed of a polyurethane.
 24. The gameball of claim 22 in which the carcass includes a bladder and at leastone thread wound around the bladder.
 25. The game ball of claim 22 inwhich the carcass further includes at least one panel molded over thethread-wound bladder.
 26. The game ball of claim 25 wherein the at leastone panel is formed of a material selected from the group consisting ofbutyl rubber, natural rubber, sponge rubber and combinations thereof.